Economy Class & Beyond

Qatar trims new Chicago route, suspends new Chengdu route.

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Qatar Airways have trimmed two of its new routes due to a lack of aircraft. Firstly, the route between Doha and Chengdu which was due to commence on the 19th March has been suspended to a later date (with no confirmation of when the route will now commence). Meanwhile the Doha - Chicago route will commence as on the 10th April as a three times a week service on the … [Read more...]

Airplane Art – FlyBe Dash-8 Q400 Landing

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It's Sunday again, so it must be time for some more Airplane art. This week, it's a FlyBe Bombardier Dash-8 Q400 landing at East Midlands Airport (near Castle Donnington, Derby and Nottingham) Unlike  last week, I know this is a Bombardier Dash8 Q400 ;) The image is clickable if you want to see a larger version – and yes you can keep them for your … [Read more...]

Safety Video Saturday – Air New Zealand – Mad About Rugby

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It's Saturday, so it must be time to place your bags in overhead compartment, stow your headrest and tray table, keep the isles clear as we got to this week's safety video. As we all probably know Air New Zealand have gone for a new video this week. I'm not showcasing that this week. Instead I'm going to a classic. Not Richard Simmons thankfully. Those Kiwi's are crazy... … [Read more...]

Air China to increase its fleet

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Air China has announced that it will be growing its fleet with an order from Boeing. This order is a mixed bag, so lets get to the details, with the following on the books: 2 B747-8I's 1 B777-300ER 20 B737-800's 8  B777-200F's (Boeing 777 Freighter) There are a couple of interesting wrinkles in this order that are worth highlighting. Looking at the passenger side, … [Read more...]

Virgin Atlantic prepares to launch… Little Red

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Well Virgin has been making lots of noises about its UK Domestic services - and now we have a brand name "Virgin Atlantic - Little Red" Little Red commences services on the 31st March, with a short expansion to follow. The routes and dates are: London Heathrow <> Manchester - 31st March, 4 times a day London Heathrow <> Edinburgh - 5th April, 6 times a … [Read more...]

The age old question: Earn or Burn?

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With life returning to some sense of normality to me (there will be a blog post about that soon), my mind now turns to a Chicago trip I have to do. It's going to be a short trip, because annoying a new employer after working at a company for a month is never a good idea. So,  I'm back at the old question that comes around when it comes to buying fares. Earn or … [Read more...]

European Commission blocks Ryanair takeover of Aer Lingus

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In what is surprising... well... no-one, The European Commission has blocked Ryanair from taking over Aer Lingus. Commision Neelie Kroes states that the takover would "Have led to dramatically reduced choice for consumers and, as a result, the likelihood of lower quality and higher fares. They were in particular not capable of ensuring that other airlines would enter the … [Read more...]

A350 Watch: MSN1 rolls out with wings, ready for testing

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It's time to turn our attention to the other major player in the big airplane game - Airbus - and their upcoming Airbus A350. The First Flying A350 - MSN1 - Images Airbus SAS This first frame now is structurally complete with its wing and winglets, as well as fairing panels and the main landing gear doors. The plane has also completed a series of indoor tests, … [Read more...]

Etihad buddies up further with… Garuda Indonesia

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Another day, another Etihad partnership update it seems. This time, Etihad and Garuda Indonesia will be adding codeshares, and adding earn and burn between the two airlines frequent flyer programmes. themselves. Garuda Indonesia will be adding Etihad's EY flight code on routes from Jakarta to: Amsterdam via Abu Dhabi Balikpapan Denpasar … [Read more...]

British Airways and Cathay Pacific expand codeshares

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In the wake of the Joint Business Agreement split-up by Qantas and BA, Qantas has gone off with new partner Emirates, whilst British Airways has decided it seems to spend time with Cathay Pacific. As a result, the following routes from/to Hong Kong will have BA flight codes added, and operated by Cathay Pacific. Hong Kong <> Brisbane Hong Kong – Brisbane – Cairns … [Read more...]